The invention refers to a multispot welding machine for producing a mesh web from arrays of wires running skew to the longitudinal direction of the web and crossing one another, the machine having two endless circulating feeders, such as belts or chains, which carry deflector-pins and each of which has a working run defining a different one of the edges of the mesh web to be produced, a wire-layer which is movable to and fro across the feeders and arranged to lay a number of wires alternately about a corresponding number of deflector-pins on the working runs of the two feeders, and a welding zone having means for welding the wires together at their crossover points. Such a machine is hereinafter referred to as if the kind described.
The meshes produced by such a machine have rhombic or square mesh apertures the diagonals of which run in directions longitudinal and transverse to the grid web, for which reason these meshes are also called "diagonal meshes"
A multispot welding machine of this kind having endless feed-chains which describe orbits lying perpendicular to the place of production of the mesh, and deflector-pins in the form of parts with hooked ends, which lie in a plane parallel with the orbital plane of the feed-chains, is known from the U.S. Pat. No. 1,922,270. An improved form of multispot welding machines in which the orbits of the endless feed chains or belts lie in a common plane running parallel with the plane of production of the mesh and the deflector-pins project from this place at least approximately perpendicularly, forms the subject of our copending application which corresponds to Austrian patent application No. A1326/76 of Feb. 24, 1976.
Usually with these machines the wires at both edges of the mesh web to be produced are laid round the deflector-pins in such a way that the apertures of the mesh at the edges of the web have cuter corners rounded off according to the radius of the pins. It has now been appreciated that, in some cases, it would be desirable to produce mesh webs in which the edges are provided with earlike loops of wire. Through such wire loops, e.g., in the production of fences, supporting wires for the mesh might advantageously be threaded.